Kim Dickens Takes Female Lead in The Walking Dead Spinoff

Deadline is reporting that veteran character actress Kim Dickens–who recently made waves for her role as a police detective in Gone Girl–has taken the lead female role opposite Cliff Curtis in AMC’s “The Walking Dead” companion series.

As previously reported, the female lead will be a guidance counselor who is in a relationship with a divorced teacher (Curtis). Frank Dillane and Alycia Debnam Carey are playing her children from a previous marriage, and Dickens’ character will have a dark past which comes back to haunt her. Unlike its Georgia-set predecessor, the spinoff show (nicknamed “Cobalt”) will take place in Los Angeles during the same zombie outbreak.

Besides her plum role in this year’s Gone Girl, Kim Dickens has appeared as a series regular on HBO shows “Treme” and “Deadwood,” and will also play a key role in the upcoming third season of Netflix’s “House of Cards.” Her film work includes memorable roles in Zero Effect, Thank You For Smoking, The Blind Side and the Footloose remake.

Co-created by Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson, the series will take place in the same zombie apocalypse depicted in “The Walking Dead” albeit in a different location and potentially at a different point in time. Erickson will serve as the showrunner for the new series which will be executive produced by Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd and David Alpert. Adam Davidson will direct the series.